Saturday, March 30, 2013

Kale Salad With Peanut Vinaigrette A La Houston's

I got knocked out with the flu this month, which was a major shock since I have the hearty constitution of an ox and rarely get sick. (My last cold was so long ago that George W. Bush was president at the time, the economy hadn’t tanked yet, and Daniel Day-Lewis only had one Best Actor Oscar instead of three!) I was in bed for a week and had no appetite whatsoever, but towards the end of that week I began craving kale in the worst way. I didn’t want just any kale dish; I wanted the Houston’s kale salad with peanut vinaigrette that my friends and I have recently become obsessed with.

I found this baby red kale at the farmer’s market. Isn’t it gorgeous? It was worth the effort of getting out of bed for the first time all week.

I know that everyone has a kale salad recipe these days, so much so that it’s a food trend in danger of overkill. I’ve even posted two different kale salad recipes here on Kitchen Fiddler in recent years, but I’m going to give you one more, regardless. And you won’t be sorry that I did, once you taste it for yourself.

Unlike the City Bakery-inspired kale salad that I’ve written about here (with its lemony-parmesan dressing and toasted breadcrumbs), or the Esalen kale salad (with avocado, sliced red onions, a trio of toasted seeds and a lemony-soy dressing), the Houston's kale salad is something altogether different. This has more of a Thai flavor profile, with a peanut vinaigrette and a large fragrant handful of chopped cilantro, mint and scallions. Shredded green cabbage and chopped peanuts add a pleasing crunch.

I ate this salad all week, and I found myself regaining my strength and appetite each time I ate it. I swear I could feel the nutrients in the dark leafy greens and cruciferous cabbage working their way through my system, building me up and restoring my energy. I think you'll agree that it is definitely crave-worthy, no matter what state of health you’re in.

I like Tuscan kale for this, also known as dinosaur kale or lacinato kale, but I used baby red kale when I took these photos. I don’t have exact proportions from the Houston’s version, but this is my best approximation of it. Feel free to add more mint, cilantro and chopped peanuts if you feel so inclined.

Make the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Alternately, you can add the ingredients to a small jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously to combine.

Combine all the salad ingredients except the chopped peanuts in a large bowl. Add about half the dressing and toss well, adding more dressing as needed so that all the leaves are lightly coated. (You will probably have leftover dressing.) This salad tastes better if dressed at least 30 minutes before serving, giving the vinaigrette a chance to mellow out the crunch of the raw kale leaves.

Add the chopped peanuts right before serving and toss again, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 4 salad servings, or 2 main course servings.

I tried this salad for the first time yesterday at lunch. Never heard of it before but I do love Houstons. Anyhow, I immediately became so obsessed with it that I got one to go so I could dissect it under bright lights. I asked for the dressing on the side, but they refused. I even asked for the manager, who said its pretty much like coleslaw, pre-dressed. They can't do that. Anyhow, the one thing I see missing here is that it defintely also has crumbled parmesan cheese, and the waiter told me it has serrano peppers. I feel like it also has a caesar edge, along with the peanut sauce. I just googled it, thank you for sharing your version. I am making this today. Just ate the rest for lunch and I added some chicken to it.

Yes, everytime I make it for the Farmers Market is sells out. I also added a serrrano pepper to the vinaigrette. It's also very important to use the expensive peanut oil, not the cooking type. It smells like roasted peanuts.

I'm glad so many people are enjoying this! Marcia, I think the recipe varies a bit depending on which branch of Houston's you go to. There are three Houston's/ Hillstone restaurants in the NY area and each one tweaks the salad a bit differently. One puts Reggiano cheese in it (which I don't like with this particular combination of ingredients) while the other two don't, and I've noticed differences in the peanut vinaigrette from one restaurant to another. This is my approximation of my favorite version of the salad, which is served at the Hackensack, NJ branch!

My first and only time to visit Houston's in Memphis, TN with dear friends-I had the ribs with a side of their delicious kale salad...wishing we had this fine restaurant in Anchorage, AK...thanks for posting your version of the salad. I'm fixing it tonight with fresh caught red salmon!

I just had a spazz attack when I googled "peanut vinaigrette" to make Houstons kale salad and saw you blog!!!. I dream of this most delicious, healthy salad. Since I first had this in Atlanta's Houston, that and the red cabbage and goat cheese (another incredible dish there) and brussel sprouts are the only things I order for my meal, AND, I get two more sides of the kale salad to go. I cannot get enough!!! Thank you SO MUCH for making my day, I'm gonna get the ingredients after work to make tonight!!

I just had a spazz attack, seeing your post!! I was googling peanut vinaigrette, to try to make this myself. You have made it easy now and I am going straight to the grocery store to make it tonight!!!!!

Thank you soooo much for posting this recipe. I always double order it in my Atlanta Houstons. I like the idea of adding the peanut sauce to the vinaigrette. I never heard of that. Is that something sold in a regular grocery store or a specialty one?I can't wait to try the recipe!

I use the Spectrum brand of Peanut Oil. It smells and tastes just like freshly roasted peanuts. It's quite expensive, about 8.00 for about 16 oz. but it is worth it for this recipe. Its also good to stir fry sugar snap peas in.

Thank you for posting! I recently just tried this in NJ and because my friend has a child who is allergic to sesame and wanted to bring some home for her husband to taste and kids (if they would of course) she asked if there was sesame in the dressing - the server went to ask and came back and said no - it is peanut oil. I made this without sesame oil and it had no flavor whatsoever - added the sesame and it tasted almost exactly the same -- I didn't use mint but I did add lime to the dressing as well as a hint of cayenne pepper. Either way, delicious and thank you! Just cannot imagine that they didn't use sesame!!!!

Thank you for posting! I recently just tried this in NJ and because my friend has a child who is allergic to sesame and wanted to bring some home for her husband to taste and kids (if they would of course) she asked if there was sesame in the dressing - the server went to ask and came back and said no - it is peanut oil. I made this without sesame oil and it had no flavor whatsoever - added the sesame and it tasted almost exactly the same as the restaurant so I can't see how they don't use sesame -- I didn't use mint but I did add lime to the dressing as well as a hint of cayenne pepper. Either way, delicious and thank you! Just cannot imagine that they didn't use sesame!!!!

Never thought of peanuts and kale together but this is great! I added about 2 tbsp of peanut butter to the dressing and used a stick blender to get it nice and mixed, and I added chopped red onion to the salad. Thanks for the recipe!

I just got to try this salad at the Houston's in Kansas City on the Plaza and immediately posted on Facebook about it! I knew I had to find the recipe because that amazing salad has been on my mind ever since! Thank you so much for figuring this one out for us!

I see you are no longer blogging, but hopefully you get a notification when someone leaves a comment. I cannot thank you enough for this recipe. I would seriously eat it every other night if my family would let me! We all love it -- including my 12 year old and 9 year old. Love your blog--just started going through it. REALLY glad I found it. Hope the fiddling is going well for you. Thanks again. Love from Atlanta!

Thank you for sharing the Kale Salad With Peanut Vinaigrette. It's fantastic! Thanks for taking the time to discuss that, I really feel strongly about it and love learning more on that topic. Keep it up...